News

23, July 2017

Bakassi Peninsula: Here is how to lay claim to another Cameroon island ⁰

A leader of the Bakassi community has accused the Nigerian government of failing to relocate residents of the peninsula to a new island he said was recently discovered. The paramount ruler of Bakassi Local Government Area, Cross River State, Etim Edet, said the government was “foot-dragging” on the matter. He said the island, called Dayspring, was good for the habitation of the mainly fishing Bakassi population, displaced after the peninsula was ceded to Cameroon in 2008.

But he said the government had abandoned the Bakassi people. Mr. Edet, who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday, said the people of Bakassi were forced to live at the mercy of the Cameroonian government because of the neglect by the Nigerian government. “We are a forgotten people,” he said.

Mr. Edet was reacting to the reported maltreatment and killing of Nigerians in the Bakassi Peninsula by Cameroonian Gendarmes. Ninety-seven Nigerians were said to have been killed recently by the gendarmes because of a dispute over N100, 000 boat levy. But Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said Wednesday that there was no evidence of such killings.

“Nigeria isn’t protecting her citizens,” said the paramount ruler in an angry tone. “This thing cannot happen to American citizens…. I consider it a national scandal. “It’s not fair. It is wrong the way Nigeria is treating us.” Mr. Edet said some of the people in former Bakassi, including himself, hurriedly left Cameroon in 2006 despite the Greentree Agreement because “we knew this was going to happen”.

The Greentree Agreement, which paved way for a smooth transfer of sovereignty of the peninsula from Nigeria to Cameroon, states that “Cameroon shall not levy in any discriminatory manner any taxes and other dues on Nigerian nationals living in the Zone”. The agreement, signed in 2006, also states that Cameroon shall respect the right of Nigerians living in the peninsula to continue with their agricultural and fishing activities.

Mr. Edet confirmed that the N100, 000 that the people of former Bakassi were asked to pay as levy was responsible for the current crisis in the area. “They agreed to pay on condition that they would be allowed to fish freely,” he said. “They are not used to paying such exorbitant taxes.” On the number of casualties, the paramount ruler said, “One or two people died, so the rest decided to run away.

“About 189 arrived Ikang in Cross River. Some ran to the coastal communities in Akwa Ibom.” He said the problem of Bakassi could only be solved if the people are resettled properly in such a way that their means of livelihood is guaranteed. He said he and his people had discovered an island – Dayspring Island – that is suitable for their habitation, but that the Nigerian government was foot-dragging on resettling the people.

“My people have been in camps under dehumanising conditions for more than 10 years now,” the paramount ruler said. “We are victims of a reckless political game.” A former senator from the state, Florence Ita-Giwa, also spoke with PREMIUM TIMES on the latest development in the former Bakassi. She said the Bakassi issue remained unsolved because the Cross River State government and the people were not united on it.

“Those gangsters in Cross River State keep using people’s lives for politics. If they had developed a place for them, those people would have come back from Cameroon since,” the former senator said. “They wouldn’t have stayed long enough in Cameroon for them to be sacked. “For 10 years we’ve been crying. I am now vindicated.” Mrs. Ita-Giwa said she was reluctant to come home to help her people because of the threat to her life. She said she was however hopeful the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari would do something about the Bakassi situation.

Source: Premium Times

22, July 2017

China donates meteorological systems to Cameroon ⁰

The Government of Cameroon is now equipped with 23 new weather stations worth over CFA one billion. The meteorological equipment is a donation from the Chinese Government. Receiving the package on behalf of Government on the 21st of July 2017, the Minister of Transport, Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o lauded the excellent relations between Cameroon and China.

He opined that the weather stations will be helpful in various sectors of the country including livestock, agriculture, air and land transport including environment and defense. The Director of Meteorology at the Ministry of Transport, Philippe Richard detailed the content of the package as having 15 manual and 8 automatic meteorological systems.

Philippe Richard observed that the equipment were excellent in data collection and will be used for forecasts. This, he noted, will help inform on natural disasters like floods and drought which are frequent in some parts of the country.

Philippe Richard added that the 23 weather stations will be spread across 23 divisions in the country to ascertain better weather forecasts. The Ambassador of China to Cameroon, Wei Wenhua was present during the ceremony at the Ministry of Transport.

Source: CRTV

20, July 2017

Clashes between herdsmen, farmers kill 33 in Nigeria ⁰

At least 33 people have been killed in clashes between cattle herders and farmers in Nigeria’s northern Kaduna state, a police chief says. Two days of violence between herders and farmers erupted on Sunday in Kajuru village, 50 kilometers outside the city of Kaduna, state police commissioner Agyole Abeh told AFP on Thursday.

“A total of 33 people were killed in the violence between Fulani herdsmen and farmers,” said Abeh. “The violence started when some villagers attacked a young Fulani man and his father, which led to the death of the young man after he was admitted in hospital.” The victim’s kinsmen gathered from nearby settlements and launched a reprisal attack on the village, killing six men, said Abeh.

In response, the youth from the farming communities “mobilized and went into the bush attacking and burning Fulani settlements they could find”, he added. “Our men were contacted but before they could deploy, the attackers had killed 26 people, mostly women and children and injured several others.”

Security personnel have since been deployed to the area to maintain peace. Nigeria’s Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has ordered reinforcements in Kaduna state following the clashes. He condemned what he said were the “needless deaths” and expressed frustration with the security challenges in southern Kaduna.

In a statement issued on Wednesday evening, Osinbajo promised to ensure that the “perpetrators of these dastardly acts” would be identified and brought to justice. Southern Kaduna has seen a spate of deadly clashes between the predominantly Christian farmers and Muslim Fulani herders, a historically nomadic people who graze their cattle on the land.

Originally, the clashes were over land and water rights disputes. But ethnicity and religion have been playing a larger role in the conflict after post-election violence in 2011 that saw hundreds of Muslims killed and forced to flee the area.

Without a national strategy in place to address the conflict, tensions between herdsmen and farmers have not subsided, and tit-for-tat killings have become common. Experts blame a heavy-handed, militarized response by the government, and incendiary comments from political and religious leaders for fanning the flames of animosity.

(Source: AFP)

20, July 2017

Yaounde: International War College graduates 62 students ⁰

The flags of 21 countries in Africa, Europe and America were hoisted at the courtyard of the International War College Simbock Yaoundé to mark the end of 11 months of war training. The senior military officers received lectures in strategic and operational planning, geopolitics and how to command joint military and multinational forces.

The 12th batch composed of 62 senior military officers is the highest in number ever trained in one session since the establishment of the institution. The Commander of the Institution, Major General Esaïe Ngambo referred to the trainees as fine grains in the domains of conception and elaboration, analysis and decision making at strategic level within national and multinational armies.

Each laureate received an attestation (War College Certificate) and insignias of the institution, on Wednesday the 19th July 2017, during a ceremony presided over by the Secretary of state in the Ministry of Defense in charge of the National Gendarmerie, Jean Baptiste Bokam. The Gendarmerie boss challenged the officers to use the newly acquired knowledge to end conflicts and fight against terrorism in Africa.

A keynote presentation from one of the trainees on the theme “What Development Model for Africa” focused on the need for African countries to think beyond national boundaries and set common development agenda based on the 2060 vision of the African Union. The graduation ceremony was also occasion to pay tribute to some 34 Cameroon soldiers who went missing after their ship wrecked off the coast of Dibunsha in the South West region.

Major General Esaïe Ngambo regretted the loss and announced that one of the victims of the accident, Lieutenant Colonel Moussa who was leading the troops received training from the War College in 2016. The French government which is a key partner with the war college was represented by Ambassador Gilles Thibault who congratulated the trainees and pledged continuous French support in the areas of training and logistics essential to continental security.

Source: CRTV

20, July 2017

Trump picks Peter Henry Barlerin to be US Ambassador to Cameroon ⁰

President Donald Trump has replace Michael Stephen Hoza as US ambassador to Cameroon. The decision nominating Peter Henry Barlerin as the new US ambassador was made public on July the 18th 2017.

Trump’s decision comes at a time when the US diplomatic mission in Cameroon is badly in need of a decent man to run its affair. The new American ambassador is a senior Foreign Service officer and deputy secretary in the African Affairs Bureau in the US State Department.

Peter Henry Barlerin served as Director of Economic and Regional Affairs in the Africa Bureau of the US State Department and in that capacity participated in the 14th International Forum of the African Growth Opportunity Act (Agoa) in Libreville, Gabon.

The new US diplomat in Yaoundé knows Africa very well. He had worked in Bamako, Mali, as part of the Kimberley process, whose mission was to prevent the illicit exploitation of diamonds.

By Chi Prudence Asong
Cameroon Concord News

20, July 2017

Amnesty says Boko Haram suspects tortured in Cameroon ⁰

Suspected Boko Haram fighters have been “brutally tortured” by security forces in Cameroon, a rights group says. Amnesty International said in a report that the suspects, including women and children, were beaten, water-boarded and forced into stress positions.

The cases allegedly happened between 2013 and 2017, and dozens of detainees died as a result, it added. Cameroon’s government has not commented. Boko Haram frequently carries out attacks in the country.

The Islamist group, based in neighbouring Nigeria, has killed more than 1,500 civilians in Cameroon since 2014, and abducted many others, Amnesty said. Victims described a least 24 methods of torture at more than 20 different sites, the report said.

In one of those places, it said, there was the presence of US and French military personnel. There was no evidence that foreign forces were involved, but Amnesty urged both countries to investigate the allegations. The report added that people suspected of supporting the militants were often being detained without evidence.

Source: BBC

19, July 2017

French army chief resigns ⁰

France’s military chief has resigned following a public dispute with President Emmanuel Macron over the government’s proposed defense budget cuts. The head of the French armed forces, General Pierre de Villiers, said in a statement on Wednesday that he had tendered his resignation to the president and that it had been accepted.

Villiers explained that with the financial constraints imposed on the army, he was “no longer able to guarantee the robust defense force I believe is necessary to guarantee the protection of France and the French people, today and tomorrow, and to sustain the aims of our country.”

A disagreement between the army chief and Macron started last week when the government revealed the details of a plan to make 850-million-euro cuts to the 2017 military spending. The government said the move was aimed at bringing France’s deficit to below the European Union’s limit of 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

The general protested the plan the following day at the president’s own council of defense and the parliament’s defense commission. Macron reacted to his remarks last Friday, saying, “For me, it is undignified to wash dirty linen in public. I am your leader; I need no pressure, no comment.”

Only two days later, Macron told Journal du Dimanche that if de Villiers “has an issue with the President of the Republic, the chief of staff will be changed.” General de Villiers reacted in a Facebook post this week, saying he could resign.

His open disagreement with Macron was untypical of French military officials, who are historically silent on government policy. The French army is nicknamed “la grande muette” — “the great and silent” — because of that tradition.

But Macron has come under fire over the cuts from other parties, too, including members of his own party. The chairman of the parliamentary committee on defense, Jean-Jacques Bridey, who is also a Macron ally, said last week that he regretted the proposed cuts “while our men risk their lives every day.” Alexis Corbière, a leftwing member of the National Assembly, also warned that consequences of austerity on the French army would be “intolerable.”

Source: Presstv

19, July 2017

Minister Bidoung Mpkwatt says Cameroon able to host best Africa Cup of Nations ⁰

The construction and renovation of football and other sporting facilities to host the 2019 AFCON games in Cameroon will be completed three months before the start of the football tournament according to a Biya comedian heading the ministry of sports and physical education.

Cameroon’s Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Bidoung Mpkwatt assured stakeholders during a media outing on the 18th of July 2017 at the Yaoundé Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium. He opined that all facilities to be used during the competition will be constructed and old ones renovated in conformity with the African Football Confederation standards and on record time.

The Sports Minister made the declaration a day after the Italian ambassador and other officials involved in the construction of the Paul Biya stadium in Olembe made similar pronouncements to the media. It’s worth observing that matches for the AFCON 2019 will be staged in many stadiums in the country including Limbe, Douala, Yaoundé and Bafoussam.

Source: CRTV

18, July 2017

“Mayor Ekema Patrick is building houses everywhere and changing employees” ⁰

Four employees of the Buea city council have been on strike since Monday morning demonstrating at the esplanade of the residence of the Francophone governor of the Southwest region.

They say the current Buea council leadership is owing them 24 months of wage arrears. The strikers who sought an audience with the CPDM boss of the Southwest region were unable to obtain it. Nevertheless, they are determined to carry on with their strike action.

“They want to see how far we can go but we are determined to go all the way, it’s our right, it’s our money, we do not know how we’re going to send our children to school. The Mayor is building houses everywhere, changing employees all the time,” said Hans Manga, one of the protesters contacted by Radio Equinoxe.

A staff delegate who spoke earlier on the same radio noted that the strikers did nothing to try to meet the mayor before embarking on their disengagement action.

By Sama Ernest
Cameroon Concord News

18, July 2017

Revealed: Cameroon military vessel sank with 37 people on board ⁰

An investigation is underway and a crisis committee has been set up after the sinking of a military vessel that left Douala on Sunday morning en route to the Bakassi peninsula. The nation’s military spokesman confirmed late yesterday that 34 soldiers were missing and that there were only three survivors. The boat was ferrying soldiers of the Rapid Intervention Battalion BIR, on a logistical mission transporting equipment destined for the military base in Bakassi.

According to a statement from the Cameroon army, the ship was an LCM, a ship designed to carry and disembark vehicles. It was commissioned in 2009 and was currently shuttling between Limbe and Bakassi on the border with Nigeria. It carried “supplies and equipment” for BIR’s civil-military activities in the peninsula. The Rapid Response Battalion is currently building infrastructure there and carries out development work.

The army says the sea was very rough on that fateful Sunday and the weather conditions abruptly deteriorated. And it was six in the morning when the “Mundemba” sank with 37 people on board. According to Colonel Didier Badjeck, bad weather was responsible for the accident. “This zone is a zone that is particularly dangerous and so the weather can change very, very brutally. Sure they were caught in a bad wave that had to overturn the boat. The operation station immediately lost the boat. There was no alert from the crew. It’s an accident that happened suddenly, “he says.

For the time being, rescue operations are continuing. The navy has deployed its diving teams, but the chances of finding survivors are dwindling hour by hour. A source inside the military hinted Cameroon Concord News that the army was now involved in a recovery operation.

By Rita Akana
Cameroon Concord News